Despite our history of being a “Christian nation,” more and more people are leaving the church and joining the unchurched. Churchrelevance.com reports on a new LifeWay report that investigates why people leave and come back to church.
The Probability
62% of the formerly churched adults said they are open to the idea of attending church regularly again, but not actively looking.
28% said they are unlikely to consider regularly attending church in the foreseeable future.
6% said they would prefer to resume attending regularly in the same church they had attended.
4% said they are actively looking for a different church to attend regularly.
The average formerly churched adult has not attended regularly for 14 years.
The Catalyst
58% said they simply felt that it was time to return to the church.
41% said a friend or acquaintance invited them.
35% said they would return if they knew there were people there like them.
31% felt that God was calling them to visit the church.
25% said they would resume if their children asked them to go with them to church.
25% said they would go if an adult family member invited them.
The Motivation
(For the large majority who were self-motivated to return to church)
46% said it was to bring them closer to God.
32% want to be around those with similar values.
31% want to make friends.
30% want to make a difference of help others in their community.
How does your church reach out to the unchurched? If not, why not?
